December 2009

ALIA submission to Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission

Summary of main points

ALIA is the peak body for the Australian library and information services sector, representing 6000 members, and the interests of over 12 million library users. It is also one of the pillar groups supporting Blue Shield Australia, the cultural equivalent of the Red Cross.

Libraries, through ALIA, have responded in a number of ways to the Victorian bushfires:

• The role of fixed and mobile libraries in the affected areas has been to provide a safe community space, a haven from the reality of the disaster.
• In the reconstruction and recovery phase, libraries have been seen as a welcome sign of a return to normality.
• Library staff have helped sort donated books to enable more than 27,400 volumes to be distributed to people who lost their homes in the fires.
• Libraries across Australia have held fundraising events to raise cash for book vouchers to help people Rebuild with Books.

The bushfire experience has once again demonstrated the role public libraries can play as part of the emergency management process and has reinforced their contribution, not only to information and learning, but also as a 'third place' - not home, school or work, but a shared community space.

Click here to view the ALIA submission [ pdf 98KB ]